Unseen
by tigeracid08
Summary: Beth's new reality isn't easy to swallow, especially when she's forced to follow her family unseen. Though she helps them any way she can, and luckily she has someone that can help her along the way. Though it's the last person she ever expected to stick around.
1. Chapter 1

** A new flip side to the story. I realize Beth's death is still fresh, and hurtful but just give it a try and who knows you might enjoy it. Just let me know what you think.**

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><p><em>Never gave much thought into why I stayed. I remembered seeing the white light, and hearing my daddy's voice calling me to go to him and I took one step in that direction when I heard a whimper come from the man picking up my body and then my sisters strangled scream, and I stopped. Couldn't get myself to move away from my living family as they froze around my lifeless body. I knew it was pointless, and I should be listening to my father, but I couldn't move and then the light was gone and I was left to watch my family suffer their loss. I tried to tell them that it was okay, that I was fine and standing next to them but they didn't hear me. Didn't even acknowledge my presence and then his voice rang out in the silence.<em>

_"Give it up, Jailbait, all we can do is watch and send them hints here and there. Hoping their dumb asses are paying attention."_

_That's when I turned my attention over to the older form of Merle Dixon, who stood with one leg propped on a walker with both hands folded together between his legs and it only took a moment for us to stare each other down before a silent agreement passed between us._

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><p><span> Three months later<span>

"Come on, Jailbait, they ain't slowing down for us." Merle hollered over his shoulder as he reached the top of the hill. When he looked back down a disgruntled looking Beth stared back up at him from the bottom. She gave him one final eye roll before disappearing and reappearing just behind the group with a triumphant smile on her face.

"Hate it when you do that shit," Merle muttered, running to catch up to her. She gave him the sweetest smile she could muster and turned to continue her journey with the rest.

Despite being invisible to them, it soon became obvious that she wasn't allowed to just wander this earth all on her own. No, if she wanted to stay on this plane of existence and not get sucked into the black hole that constantly followed Merle and her, then she had to stay within sight of her family. And sometime that wasn't always the easiest thing to do when they continued moving north. Always on the move, always on the run from one thing or another.

Merle eventually caught up with them and he gave her a nasty snarl as he passed by her to lean against the tree next to his brother as the group stopped in the clearing.

"Shit ain't fair," he muttered, moving his gaze away from her.

Beth shrugged. "Ain't my fault you weren't a better person in life."

Merle turned his angry gaze on her again and grunted. At the moment it was the only response Beth was going to get from the older Dixon brother and Beth shrugged it off as she leaned over Carl's shoulder to wave at a smiling Judith.

The little girl giggled and laughed at Beth, making Carl turne to see what was so amusing only to find never ending forest spreading out behind him.

"What you smilin' at, huh, little ass kicker." he asked, shifting his sister so that she faced forward. Judith twisted until she could see Beth again, and Beth winked at her before backing off.

"You really shouldn't do that," Merle said, sliding down to sit on the hard grass.

Beth narrowed her eyes at him, but otherwise ignored his words. He said the same thing every time she played with the little baby, and every time she simply shrugged him off. Judith was the only one that could see her and she responded so happily that Beth couldn't stop herself from making the child smile.

"Maybe someone's there making her smile," Michonne said, making Beth and Merle turn to face her. Of all the people to say something, it didn't surprise Beth one bit to hear it be Michonne. Carl rolled his eyes, and watched as Carol came forward to take Judith from him.

"She's right, maybe Beth is there playing with her." Carol smiled down at the baby, then over to the Daryl who sat glaring at her.

"Stop," he said, not bothering to utter another word as he stood and took off into the woods with his crossbow slung over his shoulders.

"Shit," Merle said, standing up and following his baby brother.

Beth looked at the living redneck with sadness in her eyes, and a dull ache in her heart. She wished she could tell him, tell everyone, that she was fine. That she was here by their side, but no amount of screaming could get them to hear her, and so she was forced to watch them from the sidelines. A part of their lives, but not. It was a hard road, but one she couldn't think about giving up at the moment.

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><p>Several hours later the group managed to make camp. The every day noises easing Beth's tension a little bit and she moved over to Maggie's side and watched as the woman boiled another can of water they managed to collect from the stream not too far off. Beth was growing bored, especially since Judith had gone to sleep, and Merle had yet to return, which meant Daryl was still off sulking and there was nothing she could about it. She tried a few times to follow after Daryl when he took off like this, but she always wound up being forced back by that gaping black hole that threatened to suck them in if she got to far from Maggie. After a while, she figured out that it was her blood keeping her on this plane, and though she loved Maggie, she would have loved to see what Daryl did when he was away from the group for so long.<p>

So she sat in silence, staring into the flames of the fire, waiting for the redneck asshole to return so that she could have someone to converse with when shouting caught her attention.

"Walkers!" Merle shouted just before he came into view. He stopped just at the edge of the camp, and leaned forward like he was out of breath before looking back up at the blonde.

"Walkers, a whole herd, getting close!" he repeated.

Beth jumped up, looking behind him for another redneck that shouldn't be too far from his brother.

"Where's Daryl?" she asked, not seeing any sign of him.

"You get this lot moving, I'll worry about him," Merle explained, turning back. It took him a few tries, but he managed to do the disappearing act that Beth had made look so easy earlier that afternoon.

Sending a prayer up above that he would keep his word, Beth spun around looking for something, anything that would get this group to quickly pack up and head out before the herd reached them. She took a look at Tyresse, who was on watch for the night, and cursed when she realized that he was facing the wrong way to notice anything coming for them. Letting out a frustrated grown, she used every bit of strength she could muster in her state, and picked up a branch to throw it in the direction Merle appeared from.

Tyresse turned, gun raised, as did a couple other people that hadn't fallen asleep yet and looked toward the sound. When another branch slide across the grass. Rick, Glenn and Maggie stood up to inspect the sound. Beth threw her hands up in the air in frustration, but followed along. When they were several yards from the camp, the sound of fighting could be heard, and a few more steps revealed a walker pinned to a tree with a bolt straight through his head.

Beth sent up a silent thank you as the two men came into view. One of them with his knife flashing left and right as he stabbed walker after walker, and the other doing what he could to hold back the other walkers so they wouldn't all converge on Daryl at one time.

"Shit," Beth hissed as the others took in the scene and quickly rushed to help. Within moments they were standing back to back, stabbing walkers left and right. Continuously moving away from the camp so that they could herd them away from the others still waiting there. Beth and Merle did what they could to help them in the chaos. Going behind the walkers, and using what strength they could muster to hold the things back so that the others could bring them down before they were bitten, or shoving the walkers away from their family, and sometimes their family away from the walkers.

When Rick lost hold of his knife, Merle grabbed hold of the back of the walker that was trying to attack him, and with their conjoined force they were able to smash his head against the tree. Beth made a quick sweep of the foreset floor, and made sure to kick Rick's knife back toward him. It was several more minutes before the group was able to stop fighting and start running with Beth and Merle right behind them. Rick went running into camp, dousing out the fire, and grabbing up the packs as he ordered the rest to run.

Sleep filled eyes quickly turned into panic as they made quick work of picking up their belongings and disappearing into the night. The two ghosts never far behind them, though they were both having a hard time keeping up. Using their strength to grab items, and people took a lot out of them, and it was by pure luck that they didn't fall too far behind before the group crossed a river and was able to stop for a breather.

Across the river, they could still see the walkers coming for them, their loud moans and shuffling feet echoing through the forest as they attempted to cross the river for their prey. Luckily, the river was at a steady flow, and the walkers were so decomposed it didn't take long for the water to wash them off their feet and away from the small group, A collective sigh rang throughout as they turned away from the sight and continued further away from the water. None of them speaking as the adrenaline faded away, and their exhausted bodies began aching for somewhere to spread out.

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><p>Morning found them holed up in an abandoned barn, laying across the cold hay as they slept off the late night run. Beth and Merle sat on the stairs, staring at their collective family with a hint of sadness in their eyes.<p>

"They can't go on like this," Beth said, reaching down to push the hair out of Judith's face. The small girl rubbed her face, and turned so that she was snuggled into her brother more.

"Don't have much of a choice do they," Merle replied, continuing to scratch at the wooden stairs. Beth wished he would stop, no doubt someone would hear him, and the last thing she wanted was the group moving on because they thought something was wrong with this place.

"If they could find somewhere safe, a sanctuary or something." Beth looked down to her sister, thinking about all the possibilities that would be opened to her with a new home.

"There you go, hoping again," Merle said, giving her a side glance. "Don't know how baby brother even put up with you always going on about the impossible."

"Please, your brother loved listening to me," Beth said, nudging his shoulder before searching out the man in question. He slept sitting up, with his back to the farthest wall. He was supposed to be keeping watch, but at some point had drifted off. He looked so peaceful that Beth ignored Merle's groaning about sloppy work, and placed herself on the watch duty. No doubt between the both of them, they could alert the group of danger should the need a rise.

"Oh, it wasn't your voice that he loved," he replied, catching Beth's attention again. She turned to see him looking her up and down to let her know his meaning.

Beth rolled her eyes. "Why don't you just go to hell," she muttered, wiping at something on her jeans.

"Already am, Jailbait," Merle replied, scoffing at her statement. Beth peeked over at him in disbelief. "What? You think following my pussy whooped brother around is my idea of heaven?"

"Then why are you here?" Beth asked, feeling irritated that the man couldn't be grateful for one small thing.

"Why are you?" He shot back, staring her down. Beth shook her head, but refused to answer his question.

"I know why," Merle continued, leaning closer as Beth shifted under his gaze. "Because you didn't listen to daddy, that's why."

"Shut up, Merle," Beth said, jumping from the stairs and moving toward the door.

"That's the problem with all you girlies. You don't ever listen to your father, and look at the trouble it get's you in." He pointed around the room, and Beth looked over her sleeping family. She didn't know where she would have been if she'd listened to her father, but she didn't like to linger to long on what could have been. Instead, she rolled her eyes at Merle and turned to peek through the cracks in the door.

"I'm right, and you know it," he continued stepping off the stairs to follow her.

"Just shut up, Merle," Beth said, pressing her forehead against the wood.

"You started-" Merle started to say when another voice piped up.

"Just do as the girl says, and shut up."

Beth and Merle, both looked up to the lofts to find another woman sitting up there with hay hanging from her brown hair, and a sour look spread across her face as she glared down at the both of them. Beth's eyes opened wide as her mouth hung open in shock. The girl continued glaring at them, and Beth moved to speak, but it was Merle that asked her question first.

"Who the hell are you?" Merle placed his foot on the first step and jammed his finger in her direction. He was trying to look intimidating, and to anybody that didn't know him it should have worked, but the girl at the top squared her shoulders and crawled to the edge of the loft to get a better look at him.

"I should be asking you that question. Barging into my home, and acting like you own the place." She pointed her finger right back at him while Beth continued staring at her disbelief.

"You can see us?" she asked, the question slipping from her lips before she could really think about it.

"Screw that, she can hear us," Merle exclaimed, taking another step toward the girl. The girl's eyes grew wide as her their words registered and she quickly disappeared into the loft once again. Beth could hear her mumbling various curses over the sounds of what could have been a bag being hastily packed up.

When she reappeared, she had a large hiking bag slung over her shoulders and a machete at her side as she started moving down the stairs.

"Where the hell-" Merle started to say, but was stopped short once again as the girl pointed her finger in his face, and then toward Beth.

"Don't talk to me, neither of you. Just leave me the hell alone." She pushed her way through them, unphased as she passed right through Merle's shoulder and started unlocking the door.

"Wait," Beth said, rushing toward her, hoping to convince the girl to stay and explain some things to her. "How can you see us?"

"Just go away," the woman replied as she let the board slide to the floor and walked out of the barn. Beth moved to follow her, and was stopped short by a hand on her shoulder. When she looked back, she noticed the ever present black hole beginning to form.

"Damn it," she muttered, stepping back into the barn. She lingered in the open doorway, unable to tear her eyes away from the retreating figure with a million questions running through her mind, and a wish that the group could catch up with her.


	2. Chapter 2

** Because I received such great reviews on the first chapter, I decided to go ahead and continue this. Not sure how long it will be, but hopefully be enjoyable for you all. Thanks for all the kind words from before and again, feel free to leave a comment and let me know what you think.**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter Two<span>**

**Daryl's POV**

The group gathered at the entrance as Daryl returned from his short trip. He stopped just a few feet from them, looking back at the footprints that disappeared into the field. When he looked back at the barn he could see the groups questioning glare and he shook his head.

"Whoever it was is long gone," Daryl said, gathering with the rest of them. He didn't miss the accusatory glimpses he would get from some in the group, but that didn't stop him from turning toward Rick as their leader thought about their next move.

"It just don't make no sense," Rick said, waving toward the barn. "He didn't take anything, or harm anyone." He looked around to do a double take on the group, and then back toward the field where the intruder left.

"She," Daryl piped in, dropping his crossbow to the ground. "It was a she."

"How do you know?" Maggie piped in, looking toward the tracks for what tipped Daryl off.

"Look at the footprints, they're small and light. Only a girl's footprints look like that." Daryl pointed out the obvious before turning back toward the barn doors. The feeling of being watched kept coming over him, but he shook it off. Reminding himself, he was in a group full of Sixteen people. Anyone of them could be burning holes into the back of his head.

"Could have been a kid, or someone like Noah." Maggie said, pointing at the two guys in question. Daryl shrugged, but shook his head. His instincts told him it was a girl, and they'd never failed him before.

"Could have been, but it wasn't," he replied meeting her gaze. "A child? Out here alone? Nah, they would have made themselves known to us the moment we stepped into that barn. And as for it being a small guy, possible, but I'm still leaning towards a girl."

"Guy or girl doesn't matter, they're heading north just like us. Maybe we'll catch up to them," Rick said, stopping the conversation.

"And if we do?" Carol asked, her eyes flitting over to meet Daryl's as they waited for a response. Rick looked toward his son, and daughter, then the rest of the group before answering.

"We'll see."

The group turned to look into the open field, their conversations picking up pace as they slowly turned back into the barn to start packing up. Carl stepped closer to his father to ask him a question, and Daryl turned back to the wide open doors. Once again cursing himself for slipping. It was how he got Beth killed, and now he was doing it again with the rest of the group.

Shaking off the gloomy thoughts, he stepped into the barn and started packing up his bedroll. Carol stood close by, and when he shouldered his bag she stepped in front of him.

"Don't blame yourself for this," she said, her arms resting on his shoulders. "We were all exhausted, and besides nothing happened." She did her best to give him that reassuring smile that always made him relax a bit, but he just shook off her hand and walked past her mumbling, "this time."

It didn't take long to get the group out of the barn and back out on the road. As the day wore on they each fell into companionable conversations. One of them, Glen he believed, came up with a small game of 'things I miss'. Where you make a list of three things that you missed the most from the old world. Daryl gave him a stink eye when he started the conversation but otherwise remained quiet as the others took turns.

When Maggie piped in, Daryl fell back long enough to listen to her list. The first two were as he expected – horseback riding, and her mama's beef stew- the third one caught Daryl off guard when she mentioned Sunday afternoon picnics with the family, and started recounting funny stories of things that would happen during these times.

Daryl listened closely, especially when one of the stories would involve Beth and for a moment he let his guard slip as Carol came to stand next to him.

Nudging his arm, she asked, "What do you miss?"

Daryl continued looking at the ground; not really sure what made him want to answer. Maybe it was because this was Carol who asked, or maybe because he was so wrapped up in memories of Beth, that for a moment he let is guard down and said, "Serious piggybacks, pigs feet with jam, and late night confessions spurred by moonshine."

Carol remained silent, and Daryl looked up to see her confused expression.

"Care to explain?" she asked, moving a bit closer.

Daryl shook his head, "No."

The sorrow in his voice told Carol to drop the conversation and she watched as her friend took off to the head of the group where Rick stood. His eyes continued looking straight ahead, but his mind was elsewhere as he recalled their last days together, remembering all their little conversations and the way she smiled whenever he did something or said something. He allowed himself the few moments to reminisce before someone tapped on his shoulder, and he looked over to see Rick motioning toward a small store not far away.

"Think it'd be worth a shot?" he asked, looking back to the rest of the group.

"Think we'd be stupid if we didn't at least try," Rick replied. His eyes searched Daryl's and he too saw the hint of sadness that lingered inside his friend.

"You okay man?" he asked, needing to know the reassurance that Daryl was going to have his back.

"I'm fine," he replied, turning away from Rick's searching gaze. His friend nodded, and turned to address the rest of the group about going into the store. There was unwavering agreement that they needed to inside and see what they could find. Some even suggested making camp in there for a few days and Rick took it into consideration as they made their way toward the storefront.

The large sign reading "General Store" held promise as they gathered around the door, and Rick knocked on the windows to get any walkers inside to reveal themselves. As they stood outside waiting, the group looked around at each other in comfortable silence. Their weapons drawn and an air of familiarity falling over them as they waited for the inevitable.

When nothing appeared, all eyes turned to Rick as he opened the front doors and slid inside. More silence greeted them as Daryl took a glance around. His eyes instantly went to the food aisle, gathering as much as the canned goods that he could into his small bag. Once again the feeling of being watched took over, and Daryl peeked over the shelves to see if anyone was watching him. No one was even focusing on him as they picked their way through the store. He was surprised at how untouched the whole place was, and a part of him felt like he was once again set up. Just like at the funeral home, it was too good to be true, making the warning bells in Daryl's head go off as he signaled for Rick.

"We should get out of here, find another place to hole up for the night," he said, motioning toward the other buildings.

"But we just cleared this place, and it's getting late." Sasha pointed out, motioning toward the window where everyone could see the sun slowly setting.

"She's right Daryl," Rick said, motioning toward the group now heading toward the storage room in the back. "It's the safest we got right now."

Daryl shook his head, unable to get rid of the feeling of Deja Vu all over again. When he looked over to find that even Abraham and Rosita were already pushing the shelves up against the windows and door, he shook his head.

"Don't like it, but whatever." He pushed past them and headed to where Carol was already sitting down, taking count of whatever medicines that she'd managed to find. She looked up at him for a moment before turning back to the task at hand. When he didn't say a word she tossed him a bottle of unopened Advil smiling.

"It really is too good to be true," she muttered, nodding toward the rest of the group as they settled in for the night "It's like we were led here by guardian angels or something."

"Luck, pure fucking luck that will give out when we least expect it," Daryl said, letting his head fall back on the wall.

Carol cocked an eyebrow at the man next to her, taking a moment to look him over and memorize the differences in him since they left Atlanta for the second time. She remembered his optimism while they were searching for Beth, the way he would go for the plan with the least confrontation and how now he just didn't seem to have the strength to argue with anyone at the moment.

"Don't believe in such things?" she asked, hoping for some kind of answer that would show the man with faith was still nestled inside of him.

"Nope," he replied, closing his eyes to settle in before his watch. "Don't think anything is out there looking out for us anymore."

"Now that's not true, Daryl," Carol argued, a look of pity settling over her features. "There's gotta be somebody looking out for us."

Daryl sat up so fast, Carol barely had a chance to move back as his eyes flashed with the anger that was so close to his surface now and days.

"If that were true, then he wouldn't have let Beth get killed, or let your little girl die the way she did. Hell, if there was some all powerful being, he could have cleared this fucking world of the dead long before we lost anyone. But there's not, and if by chance there is, his a sick prick that gets his kicks from watching us all suffer and die!"

Daryl closed his eyes at Carol's stunned face. Ignored the way she flinched when he mentioned Sophia and turned her away when the tears began flowing down her face. He didn't want to hear her excuses for why he was wrong. Hell, he didn't want to hear her say he was right either.

Daryl stormed away from the group, determined to keep his distance from the rest of the group until his temper cooled down. The last thing he wanted was to take more of his anger out on someone else, he already knew an apology was in order to Carol for saying the things he did, still he wasn't going to turn back now. Maybe in the morning. He was just settling with the thoughts when something crashed on the other side of the building. Swinging his crossbow around, he picked up his pace and joined Rick and them as they made their way over to the far aisle. In the center of the floor stood a turned over magazine stand and all its contents splattered across the floor.

Daryl took a look around the corners and then returned before looking toward the group for an explanation. All was silent until the maintenance closet opened up, and a brown-haired, mousy-eyed girl stepped out. Her wide eyes swept over the group and landed somewhere in the middle of them before she threw her head back and said, "You gotta be fucking kidding me."


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay here's the next chapter. Since I can't seem to write anything on my original works, but can pop out five pages of walking dead. Figures, but anyways I hope you enjoy it. Originally this was going to be in Beth's POV, but it started shifting towards the newcomers, Avery's, POV and I just went with it, which is why their names aren't written through all of this, but I hope I gave enough hints that you know who is talking when, despite Avery not knowing them. And yes I changed the name of the story from The World Unseen to Just Unseen. Sounds better to me.**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 3<span>**

**Avery's POV**

"Who are you?" The man closest to her demanded, lowering his gun to his side but not putting it up. The girl's eyes flicked between his weapon and the man holding the crossbow before resting on the two ghosts.

The older man gave her a cocky smile and said, "You better answer Officer Friendly over there."

The girl rolled her eyes, but focused her attention back on the man with the heavy beard.

"Avery," she said, glaring at the dead man, "My name is Avery."

The darker man peeked into the closet and came back out shaking his head, to which the man standing closest to her nodded his head in silent communication and holstered his gun. The way he stood, Avery could tell that must have been in law enforcement before all this went down, and that helped her relax. A little. Too much time had passed to really trust anyone, even a man of the law could have gone to the dark side at some point.

"You alone, Avery?" he asked, turning toward the front door, waiting for someone to barge in and rescue the small girl. Avery shrugged her shoulders, but otherwise was growing bored with the situation already .She wanted to be alone again, preferably back in her shelter but that could wait until these guys were long gone.

"It's safer to be alone," she replied, taking in the whole group. "More people around, the more unwanted attention you draw."

Her eyes rested firmly on the two ghosts again, as they stood silently off to the side. Her eyes took in the blonde haired girl that couldn't have been older than herself, and the older redneck guy. She wondered what their connection to these people were. They seemed relaxed, liked they'd been in that state for a while, and a hint of sadness grew in her. The idea came to help them, but she quickly dismissed the idea. That would require getting to know these people, and she wanted nothing to do with anyone any more. The tension eased a bit more, when the dark haired man shouldered his cross bow, and the dark skinned woman placed her sword but in its sheath. The man with the beard swept his gaze over his rather large group before resting back on Avery.

"There's also safety in numbers," he said, meeting Avery's gaze.

The girl turned her head to the side, and shook her head. "No, in fact," she said, turning toward her broom closet. She came back out with her bag in one hand and a sleeping bag in the other.

"Now wait a minute," the man said, putting his hand up to stop her. "You can't leave. It's dark out there. We can share this space for now, and in the morning we'll part ways."

Avery looked around the group again, trying to decipher rather or not the group would be safe enough. Her eyes rested on an older woman holding a baby, and she realized this group couldn't be all that bad. Not if they had woman that still held a hint of kindness in their eyes, and children that looked happy enough despite the apocolypse.

Avery shrugged, "Fair enough," she replied. She walked around the group, heading for the employee room where they had set up for the night. "But you promise we part ways in the morning."

"Promise," The man said, holding his hands up in surrender. When she nodded her head, he held his hand out. "Names-"

Avery cut him off, shaking her head. "No names, I don't wanna know any of you." She looked around the room to encompass the whole group.

"Okay," Rick said, unsure of where to go from there.

Avery shrugged her shoulders, feeling a little bad for being rude to the man that was trying to be nice, despite the circumstances.

She gave him a half smile before saying, "I'll just call you Officer Friendly and friends."

A couple people froze, staring at her like she'd grown a second head while the old ghost started chuckling.

"What'd you say," The dark haired man asked, taking a step closer. Avery looked around, and noticed that the old law man and older woman were holding their breaths, staring her down with curious eyes.

"Just said, I'd call him Officer Friendly because he looked like he used to be in law enforcement," she explained, realizing her mistake. She stiffened up at the look in the man's eyes as he took another step closer.

"Yeah, but why that name?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he waited for her explanation.

Avery shrugged, her eyes darting between the man's dark blue eyes, and the ghosts amused expression as he watched her try to play off her goof.

"Just sounded good," she said when she realized the man wasn't going to back off.

"Leave her be," The older woman said, coming to stand next to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he backed off. Avery took in a deep breath before turning toward the group. She noticed a younger woman, and Asian man sitting around the corners and decided that they looked the friendliest of the bunch.

She placed her pack against the wall, sitting as far from them as possible without looking rude. Once she settled, she pulled out a comic book, and a pair of headphones, determined not to converse with any of these people. It worked for a while, her focus on the avengers and what they were doing before a teenage boy came and settled down next to her. He didn't say anything at first, just kind of leaned over her shoulder like he was reading.

"Hawkeyes my favorite," he said after a moment, and Avery couldn't stop the smile the spread across her face.

"He is pretty bad-ass with that bow isn't he?" she said, pulling the earphones out, and smiling at the boy.

"Hell yeah, the way he could hit his mark from miles away. No one can do that," the boy said, his hands flying before him in enthusiasm.

A 'hmph,' came from the table, and they both looked up to see the man with the crossbow leaning over the table studying his bolts.

"Okay, very few people could do that," the boy amended, his eyes not leaving the older mans.

"You're saying his a real life Hawkeye?" Avery asked, not believing the man could be that good.

"Better," the man said, looking up for the first time "I don't need tracking devices to hit my targets." He grinned from ear to ear at the statement, and the boy next her chuckled.

"He's right, he's fucking awesome with that bow."

Avery quirked an eyebrow at the boys choice of words. "You let your dad hear you cuss like that?"

The boy gave his own version of the quirked eyebrow before replying "Are you kidding me?"

Avery shrugged. "Fair enough."

They turned back to the comic book, continuing their conversation about which superhero was better and which ones the would love to meet. In the end, Avery wound up pulling all of her comic books stashed in her bag to show them to the boy, and the fell in to a companionable silence as they read through each of them. For a few she was able to forget her troubles, even forget about the two ghosts that still lingered around the group as they settled in for the night.

When she looked up again, she found that the boy had fallen asleep next to her with a comic book still opened on his chest. Quietly she took the book from him, and looked around for a blanket that would keep the boy warm for the night.

When she was sure he was warm, she spread her own sleeping bag out, and was about to get comfortable when she noticed Officer Friendly watching her.

'Thanks for that," he said, his hands resting on his hips as he stared down at the boy.

"Your son I take it," she said, doing her best to ignore the look of concern on the man's face.

He nodded his head and looked over the little red headed baby that was snuggled against the dark skinned woman. "And daughter," he explained, motioning toward the child.

Avery nodded, busying herself with her supplies so the guilt wouldn't eat away at her.

"Winters setting in, you have any idea where you going?" she asked, giving into her concern for the little ones. She looked towards the older man as he rubbed at the back of his neck before shaking his head.

"Don't have anywhere to go at the moment," he replied. His eyes took in the rather large group that was now spread out as much as possible in the closed space. That look of concern entered his eyes again, and Avery could tell he felt like the burden was on him to keep them all alive.

Avery felt that familiar twist of the gut, like she would literally be sick if she didn't at least speak up and make the offer. Letting her head fall in defeat, she looked at the man.

"You guys are welcome to come to my place if you want." Her eyes met his as they furrowed together in confusion before he cocked his head to the side like he was waiting for an explanation.

"It's not the best, seeing as it's just me, but it's safe and warm and I have access to plenty of supplies." She did her best to keep her eyes from rolling as she waited for the man's response. He just continued looking at her for several seconds like he was trying to understand something.

"Are you sure?" he asked, disbelief in his tone.

Avery looked at the teenager and then the baby. "Yeah, my mother come back from her grave to beat me if I didn't offer," she said, smiling at the memory of her family.

The man nodded his head. "I would have to speak with the rest of the group, but I appreciate it."

"No problem, Officer-" she started to say as the man held his hand up to stop her.

"Don't call me that, please," he said, his eyes focusing on the dark haired man that sat by the door. The man had opened his eyes when she started muttering the phrase again, and realized it must be a sore spot for him.

"Something from a friend of yours?" Avery asked, kicking herself yet again for even wanting to know.

"Not really," The man said, looking at her once again. "The guy was an asshole to tell you the truth; couldn't control his mouth for a fucking minute," he continued, smiling at the thought. "But he died helping us in the end. Despite his faults, he turned out to be a good man."

Avery nodded as she looked to the man in question. She heard him mutter "ah, hell," from the corner of the room while the blonde headed girl nudged him in the side. She smiled at the man, before turning her attention back to the officer.

"So what do I call you?"

"Names Rick," he replied before nodding toward his son. "That there is Carl, and Judith is my daughter. The rest I guess you could learn in the morning if we decide to stay with you."

Avery nodded in agreement and Rick turned to the front door to take up the first watch. Her eyes met with the dark haired man's for a moment and gave him a reassuring smile before turning toward her own bed for the night.

* * *

><p>When morning came, it didn't take long for Rick to tell the group about Avery's offer. They all looked at her. Some with thankful smiles, and others with accusing glares. One such person was the young woman that she thought looked friendly the night before.<p>

"And you weren't going to offer this before. Knowing we had children with us?" she asked, taking a step forward. The Asian man moved to hold her back, and Avery took a step away from her.

"Seriously, you were just going to let us walk away in this mess," the man with the crossbow threw in, his features even more intimidating then the young woman's, and Avery's mouth went dry as she tried to come up with an explanation.

She opened her mouth to answer, and surprisingly it was the woman holding the katana that spoke up. "I can understand why she wouldn't offer at first." All eyes turned to her, and she met Avery's before continuing. "People are scary now and days. Especially when they come in numbers like we do. Before I met Andrea, I would stay away from large groups, any living being in fact. And if I was forced to mingle with people, I wouldn't tell them about my safe-haven for fear they would over power me and take everything for themselves. The Governor being a perfect example."

Avery swallowed the lump that seemed to grow larger as the others looked at her again. She gave a small, grateful smile to the woman before meeting the others gaze. She could see them stripping her down, judging her for wanting to keep to herself and she felt the need to explain.

"I've been alone for a long time, and the people I usually meet aren't that great," she said, meeting each gaze before moving on to the next one. The older woman nodded her head, her eyes moving from hers to the younger woman's that was still glaring at her.

"We can understand that. The people we've met on the road weren't all that kind either," she said. Avery noticed her eyes flicking over to the dark hair man's, who nodded in agreement just as the younger woman relaxed her stance.

"She's right, the living have killed more of our family than the dead have this past year," the young woman said turning to bury her head in the Asian man's neck.

The blonde ghost girl mumbled something as she moved closer to the young woman and placed a hand on her shoulder. She knew the woman didn't feel it, but there was air of sadness around the two as the woman started sniffling.

The dark haired man stepped forward, his eyes filled with sorrow for a moment as they rested on the couple before looking around the room to ask "Well, are we going or not?"

There was a round of nods coming from everyone as they turned their eyes toward Rick.

"Alright, pack up." The officer's eyes landed on Avery, and she nodded in understanding as she grabbed her things together. It wasn't long before the whole group was ready to move out, and Avery took a deep breath before leading them out of the store, and toward the other side of the small town. The whole group remained silent as they walked along the streets. Keeping mostly to the buildings as they kept their eyes peeled for walkers. Avery continued glancing left and right, but otherwise felt comfortable as she made her way. There weren't many walkers in this area, seeing as the town was abandoned when the outbreak first occurred, and so mostly remained untouched from the evil that now plagued the world.

It didn't take them long to reach her apartment building, and she led them around back where the flight of stairs stood. Grabbing the crow bar that she kept by the stairs, she reached up and pulled down the fire escape ladder and began climbing up. When she reached the top, she looked down to see the rest of the group following her lead. It gave her a chance to count sixteen heads, including the baby, and she shook her head. 'That's a lot of mouths to feed.'

She waited til most of them were up the stairs before sliding a window open, and ducking inside her studio apartment. She quickly tossed her bag onto the beaten couch and turned in time to see Rick and the Hawkeye guy coming in first, their eyes quickly traveling over every nook and cranny of the open place, like one who was accustomed to looking for escape routes would do before landing on her.

When they all managed to gather into the small space, she motioned around the room."This one isn't much, but there's a couple more apartments down the all that should allow you to spread out more."

"A couple of apartments?" A woman with almost black hair asked.

Avery nodded, once again scared that her statement might start some kind of angry out bursts. She wasn't good with confrontation, and she really just wanted to help them.

"You claimed this spot by yourself?" Rick asked, looking around the place.

"Well me and my brother and his wife, before they passed," she explained, moving away from the large group that remained clustered in the center of her home. They looked at each other for a moment, and Avery led them out the front door so that she could motion down the hall. Sure enough, there was a couple other doors leading into what they assumed to be apartments. Rick mentioned for everyone but a few people to stay in Avery's apartment while they quickly scouted the area. Avery joined them, comfortable in the knowledge that they wouldn't find anything. The first apartment they entered was a bit larger, with two bedrooms and a small bathroom connected to it. Rick and the guy with the crossbow moved through the rooms quickly, clearing the place before moving on to the next apartment that was slightly larger, this one with three rooms, and two baths that they cleared out before relaxing.

"You got water running in this place?" The Asian man asked, studying the odd piping system that ran out the windows.

Avery nodded her head before explaining, "In my apartment, and the three bedroom one. My brother wanted us to be as comfortable as possible in this place."

They all nodded in understanding and Avery focused her attention on the leader as he swept his gaze to the other doors that were nailed shut. When he looked to Avery for an explanation and she shrugged, letting her eyes fall to the floor before saying, "We meant to clear this whole floor out, in case we came across others like yourself, but my sister-in-law fell ill and it never got done."

Rick nodded his head again, and turned toward the other two men that accompanied him.

"I say we relax and see how things go from here before we start putting in the effort," the Asian man said, and Rick looked to the others for advice. Most of them agreed with the statement, except a red-headed man that argued that they should clear out at least one more.

Rick shook his head, "No, Glenn's right, we've been moving non-stop for two weeks, and we don't need to impose on Avery here if we're not going to stay. Let's just rest for a day or two and then see what to do next."

"Bullshit," the ginger replied, turning away in anger.

"Look, if you want to waste the time and energy, then you go at it. The rest of us aren't worrying about it til later." The man called Glenn said before storming off toward Avery's apartment. She looked toward the rest of them in question, and it wasn't long before ginger followed Asian man, muttering something along the lines of "Me and Rosita could clear this whole place in no time." So, Avery wasn't to surprised to find him and the girl she assumed to be Rosita, going through their gear along with the darker haired woman from before, while whispering some kind of battle plan between the three of them.

"They just want some alone time," Carl whispered as he came to stand next to her. Avery looked at him questioningly and Carl continued. "Those two fuck like rabbits. Personally, I'm glad they want their own space. Means we won't have to hear them tonight."

Rick hollered for Carl, and he left, amused with his words and the shocked expression on Avery's face. She wasn't lying when she said she'd been alone for a long while, and it'd been even longer since she'd been around someone Carl's age, so hear him talk like an adult was a bit off putting and she tried to shove it away the best she could. Reminding herself that this wasn't the same world that it was nearly five years ago.

Shaking her head, she turned around to see a giggling blonde standing in the corner. She'd forgotten for a moment that those two would be tagging along, and she shook her head. She never wanted ghosts in her own space, but apparently those two went where the group went. Like a packaged deal that she just couldn't shake.

Sighing, her eyes lingered a moment longer then necessary on the pair, and she was soon interrupted by a rather gruff voice. "What you shakin your head at, girl?"

Avery jumped at the sound, and turned to see the dark haired man looking at her and then the space that was empty to his eyes.

"Nothing, Hawkeye," she said, doing her best to play it off.

"Names Daryl," he replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Nah, I like Hawkeye better." She smiled at his irritated expression as she brushed past him and headed toward Carl and rest of the group as they sat up their sleeping arrangements for the next couple of days.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter. I am actually really enjoying writing these characters out. Their fun to play with, and get inside their heads. Though I do sometimes wander if I'm doing them any justice, but oh well. it's all fanfiction. Again thanks for the reviews, and hope you enjoy this chapter as well. **

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><p><strong>Beth's POV<strong>

That evening the group settled comfortably in Avery's apartment. The girl seemed to be on edge with all the new faces, and Beth took pity on her. She'd obviously been alone for a while, and now she was forced to mingle with so many new faces. Realizing that she wasn't going to willingly talk to either of them, Beth decided to give her a little nudge toward the living.

Standing next to her against the wall, Beth looked upon her family with a small smile. Waiting for Avery to take notice of her. The girl turned her head slightly and that was all the acknowledgement she needed.

"They're really not that bad once you get to know them," Beth said, nodding to the group that was setting up their camp. Rick was just finishing up figuring out who was going to sleep where. Carol, Tyresse, Sasha, Maggie and Glenn decided to take the apartment next door. Knowing they could split up in the various rooms. While Rick and Michonne offered to take the kids in the biggest apartment further down with Noah, Gabriel and Daryl. Which left Abraham, Rosita, Tara and Eugene still searching for yet another apartment that would provide them with some privacy. At the moment everyone was sitting in the center of the room taking stock of their supplies, and just relaxing now that they'd managed to find a safe place that wouldn't be over run anytime soon. They hoped anyways.

Judith began crying again, pulling everyone' attention toward the little one as Carol shuffled through the bag for her food, and Michonne stood to bounce her in hopes she would calm down.

Beth noticed Avery's eyes linger on the child in confusion.

"Lil Ass Kicker is something else," Beth began, a smile playing on her lips. Avery looked at her in confusion for a second before turning back toward the group.

"That's the name Daryl gave her," Beth continued, nodding toward the man with the crossbow. "Her mother died in childbirth, and Rick went a little insane at first, so that left us with a baby to tend to and no name to call her by, since none of us felt right giving her a name without his permission. Daryl just decided to call her Lil Ass Kicker 'till something better came along."

Beth eyes grew distant as she remembered that day, everyone gathering around Judith while she cooed in Daryl's hands. She remembered his smile, and the way the whole room brightened at the prospect of a baby being around. The little sliver of hope that mankind could move on, that things could get better.

"Having a baby in this world," Avery began, whispering so she wouldn't catch the other's attention.

"Is dangerous and impossible, but we make it work. Every day, we find a way to survive." Beth said, not really thinking about her words until she noticed Avery staring straight at her.  
>"They..." she said, emphasizing the word before continuing. "THEY make it work. THEY survive. You're already dead."<p>

Her words were cold, and Beth could feel the sliver of ice go straight to her metaphorical heart as the girl continued staring at her. Merle noticed the two staring each other down, and was stopped by a loud gun shot going off, and bits of plaster flying over them. Several people shouted, and ducked out of the way of the stray bullet before looking through the rather large hole in the wall that allowed them to see the mullet man with a surprised expression across his face.

"Sorry," he muttered, holding up his weapon. "Just got away from me."

"Goddamn, you fucking idiot," Daryl exclaimed, rushing out the door and into the other room where everyone could see him snatching the gun from the man's hands. "What the hell you thinking?"

"I was just trying to help?" Mullet Man replied, glancing nervously at the group through the whole then back to the glowering Daryl.

"Help get us all killed, cause that's certainly what it looked like," he exclaimed getting closer to the man's face. Beth held her breath, as for the hundredth time she wished he could hear her, or feel, or something that would allow her to help him calm his anger.

Another girl stepped up, that Beth was pretty was called Tara and pushed her way between Daryl and mullet man.  
>"Stop, Eugene didn't mean no harm," she replied, shoving Daryl back a bit.<p>

Daryl glowered at her, but otherwise stepped off. Looking toward Abraham as the man stepped into the room to see what the commotion was.

"Keep this useless fucker away from the weapons," he said, shoving his finger into Eugene's shoulder a bit rougher the necessary, making the man wince as Daryl walked away. When he came back into the room, he turned his angry glare onto Avery, who backed away from him.

"Hey, girl who likes to talk to herself, that fire escape lead to the roof?" he asked, his voice still raised an octave higher than necessary. Avery nodded, taking another step away from the angry man as he stormed out of the window, and up the fire escape. Beth looked at Avery with worried eyes, as the girl continued looking out the window where Daryl had disappeared.

"He's not usually that bad. He's just upset." Beth explained, crossing her arms over her chest. Avery looked at her again, asking her without words to explain.

"He's just tired of losing people," Beth said, giving her a reassuring smile before turning to Carl, who was now examining the hole in the wall with a hint of disappointment.

"So much for some privacy in this place." he muttered, peeling more of the loose plaster away.

"What are you complaining about," Avery asked, nudging him in the shoulder. "I'm the one that has to sleep in here."

Carl giggled at the statement as Maggie came over to stand behind the two. "We're really sorry about that. I'm sure Smart-Ass in there can think up some way to fix a wall." Maggie nodded in the direction of Eugene, and Avery stared at him being lectured by the Abraham and then back to Maggie.

"I'm assuming none of you really like him," she said, looking at Maggie for an explanation. The woman shook her head before saying, "He claimed he had a cure for the dead, just so that people would protect him."

"He lied," Avery said, putting the words together. Beth looked back at Eugene with her usual disdain. She'd heard the story before, and it still irritated her that someone would give so many people false hope like that.

"Yeah, and because of him, my husband and I separated from the group instead of being there to rescue my sister." Maggie's voice hitched up at the last bit, and Beth turned her attention to her sister. Noticing the tears that were threatening to spill out yet again.

"Don't Maggie, no," she said, stepping closer, and placing a hand on her shoulder. She knew she couldn't feel it, but she hoped she got some comfort from it all the same.

She looked to Avery to say something, and the girl opened her mouth and then closed it again at a loss for words."I-I-" Avery started to say, and Maggie shook her head to stop her.

"I know that it probably wouldn't of made a difference, but then again I knew my sister. I knew how she thought she had to save everyone, and maybe if I'd been there I could have stopped her."

"This is not your fault, Maggie," Beth said, pulling her arms despite her not being able to feel it. "Tell her this is not her fault." Beth pleaded, her eyes turning to Avery for help.

Avery looked at Beth, and then back to Maggie. "It isn't your fault. It's not anyone's fault." she said, repeating Beth.

Maggie gave her a small smile, her eyes glazing over as she shook her head. "That's sweet of you, really, but you don't know me. I was a horrible sister, and I have to live with that."

"No," Beth hollered, turning toward Avery. Pleading with her. "Tell her she doesn't. Tell her I'm here. Tell her!"

Avery shook her head, her eyes staring at the two sister's in silence as one began backing away while the other came up to her, trying to pummel her with fists, begging her to say something.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything," Maggie said, wiping the tears that slipped down her cheeks before pointing toward the wall behind Avery. "We will find a way to get that fixed though."

Beth continued begging Avery to say something, demanding that she comfort her sister with the knowledge that she was still with them, but Avery remained silent. Closing her eyes, like she was trying to block them all out.

"Why didn't you say something," Beth demanded, moving to slap Avery. Merle grabbed her arm, and pulled her away, but Beth continued to fight him. "You can make them feel better, you can let them know we are here!" Beth shouted, tears streaming down her face now. Merle pulled her into an embrace, forcing her to bury her face against his chest as she continued mumbling, "She could help them feel better."

"Shh," he said, brushing her hair down. "Give it time, Jailbait, give it time."

* * *

><p>That night Beth found herself propped up against the two room apartment door, humming to herself as she tried to block out the sounds coming from inside. As the sounds grew louder, she envied Carl and his room down the hall, and wondered how Avery was taking her new company. Especially since Eugene said they would need to head to some kind of hardware store to fix the mess he made.<p>

Sighing, she was glad to see Merle come out of the room where Daryl and them were sleeping, and slide down on the floor a few doors down from here.

"How's it going, Jailbait?" he asked, smirking at her. No doubt remembering her breakdown from earlier.

"I've felt better," she replied, not really looking at him.

"I know that's right." They both chuckled at his admission, letting the sound die down to a comfortable silence. Merle started scratching at the floor again, and this time Beth didn't bother trying to make him stop. It wasn't like there was anything else they could do. No smoking, no drinking, no eating. It was just a long, endless nothing for the pair of them, and Beth wandered back to Avery's words earlier, when she reminded her that she was just dead.

"You ever think about just jumping into that black hole?" she asked, looking at her hands as she waited for an answer.

Merle stopped his scratching, probably thinking about her question before sighing. "Sometimes, but then Darylina does something so stupid, and I know can't leave this place without my baby brother."

"Really?" Beth asked, peeking up at the redneck, unable to believe that he cared that much. "You would wait for him?"

Merle shrugged, his eyes not meeting hers as he said, "I thought about leaving once. When I thought he would be taken care of by another, and I wouldn't have to worry about him no more, but plans got screwed up. Like always." he smirked, still not looking at her.

"What happened?"

Merle peeked up at her, his eyes holding hers for a moment as he said, "Girl went and got herself shot. Couldn't leave my baby brother with her no longer there to guide him."

"Oh," Beth whispered, looking back at her hands. She didn't know what to say to that. She didn't regret her actions. Not completely because that meant Dawn was gone, and Noah was safe. But she did regret not getting more time with her family. Not being able to hold them, and talk to them like she really wanted to do.

"Can't say I blame ya, basically did the same fucking thing myself," Merle continued, looking back to scratch at the floor some more. Beth nodded her head, remembering what she heard happen to him when Daryl returned to the prison that day.

Her eyes looked up to meet his, and he gave her a wry smile. "But damn you two would have made quite the pair."

Beth blushed, or what felt like blushing as she went back to picking at whatever was on her fingers.

"Not so sure, I wanna think about that now that I know you would have been there," Beth said, a playful hint in her eyes.

Merle smirked. "Eh, I would have given ya'll your privacy. I mean, look at what you do for your sister."

Beth rolled her eyes, looking toward the door and just realizing that the sounds inside had calmed down. She really hoped that meant they were finished, but she wasn't putting too much hope into it.

"You made him a better person," Merle added, looking back to the scratched up floor. "You did what I couldn't. Just wish I could have found someone like that when I was living."

Beth looked at him, taking in his sad eyes. "You were a good person, Merle, in your own messed up way. There was always a chance there was someone out there for you."

"Nah, I would have fucked it up somehow," he said, looking toward the door where Daryl was sleeping. "I'm afraid Daryl was my one and only redeeming factor, and I even screwed that given relationship all to hell."

"Daryl loved you," Beth said, sound irritated that she even had to say that. Merle gave her a questioning look and shook his head.

"He loved me because I was blood, otherwise he wouldn't have put up with my ass for as long as he did."

Beth rolled her eyes, deciding that arguing with the older redneck was pointless. After a moment, there was the sound footsteps coming from the door between them and Eugene stepped into the hall looking a little lost.

"Speaking of blood," Beth said, nodding to the newcomer. Merle cast him an irritated glare, but otherwise ignored the man.

"He did almost shoot Daryl, and a few others." Beth pointed out, getting Merle to look at her again.

"What's your point, Blondie?"

"Well, he can't see us," she said, pointing out the obvious. Her smile grew into a wicked grin. Merle looked at the man as he stepped back into the room that was between Daryl's and Maggie's.

"psh, he ain't worth my time."

Beth stood up, and kicked Merle in the boots "Come on, jackass, what's the point of being a ghost if you can't scare a few people."

Merle looked at the mischievous glint in her eye and the wide grin that spread from ear to ear and he shook his head while muttering, " ah hell, as long as there's no fire involved this time."


	5. Chapter 5

** Because I couldn't hold off writing Eugene's torture, here you are. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as i enjoyed writing it. And just to let you know, NO I do not condone bullying in any form to anyone, but this is fiction, and Eugene has some form of punishment coming from the group. Despite being knocked out by Abraham I do believe the others will have a few choice words to say to him, and in this he is probably getting off light. So enjoy it.**

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><p><span><strong>Daryl's POV<strong>

Daryl was just grabbing his crossbow and heading out the door when he heard the first scream. His senses instantly alert as he ran toward the apart wedged between his and Glen's and opened the door to see a very naked Eugene leaning out the window screaming about something.

"Good lord, man, put on some clothes," Daryl exclaimed, turning around to leave when Eugene looked at the man that just barged into the small apartment.

"I would if my clothes had not been thrown out the window." Daryl kept his back turned, but stopped and took a deep breath.

"And who would do such a thing? he asked, not ready to hear this man's voice so early in the morning.

"I would imagine that it would be the same person that held me down and shaved off my eyebrows last night," Eugene said, sounding as calm as ever.

Which made Daryl peek back around to see if he was serious. Sure enough, the man was standing stark naked with no eyebrows on top of his head. Closing his eyes to the image that would forever be burned into his mind, Daryl turned back around shaking from laughter.

"I don't find anything amusing about this situation." Eugene went on to say, making Daryl laugh even harder.

"No, I don't imagine you would." Daryl, couldn't stop from laughing, even as the others came to see what all the commotion was about. No doubt, looking at Daryl like he'd lost his damn mind, until he managed to point behind him and explain the situation. Abraham and Rosita, who were on watch the night before, stood there flabbergasted as to how it could even happen, and even Tara - despite being barricaded in the bathroom,- could be heard laughing from Eugene's reaction.

"Would somebody please help me get my clothes back," Eugene asked, grabbing a blanket from his bed to hide his nakedness from the people gathering around.

"Do you mind telling us who did this?" Abraham asked, smirking as he leaned against the doorway to see the young man better.

"I didn't see them," Eugene replied, looking away from the group as another round of chuckles ensued.

"Your telling me, that someone got close enough to hold you down and shave off your eyebrows and you didn't see them?" Abraham asked, disbelief laced in his tone.

Eugene pointed his chin up in the air in defiance before replying, "I realize my past history with you guys will make you doubt every word I say, but no, I did not see my attackers. They were in fact invisible to me."

Another round of laughter from the hallway, and this time Daryl had to turn around to look at the man's face. "You're saying Casper did this."

Eugene cleared his throat and met Daryl gaze. "It's not beyond the realm of probability."

Daryl leaned up against the door frame for another round of laughter as Eugene continued getting more and more uncomfortable with the situation.

When the group finally calmed down, Daryl ran his hands down his face before looking at the man again. "Good lord, Mullet, go and get your fucking clothes."

Eugene considered his words for a moment before looking out the window and then back at the group.

"There is a walker out there," Eugene said, giving the group a pleading look.

"Then go kill it," Daryl replied, amusement still shining in his eyes as he reached into his boot and pulled out a small knife for the man to use.

Eugene looked out the window a second time, and met Daryl's determined gaze. "Can't I at least have a gun to defend myself."

"Nope, " Daryl shook the knife at Eugene. He looked to the others, and when he realized no one else was willing to step in, he nodded his head and grabbed the knife from Daryl's hands.

As he shoved his way down the hallway, the others parted and followed him to the fire escape where he crawled out and clumsily climbed down. The last ladder slide the rest of the way down as soon as he scrambled onto it, and Eugene clung on for dear life until he clanged to a stop, and stepped off of it only to get tangled up in his blanket and trip over. The man went flying to the ground with an audible thud, and laid sprawled out for a moment while he got his bearings.

There was an audible "oh" coming from the entire group that gathered on the fire escape and hanging out the windows to watch Eugene. Luckily, Eugene righted himself in time to dodge the first advance of the walker, unfortunately he dropped the knife, leaving him with nothing to attack with for the first several seconds until he managed to circle around the dead man and make a grab for the knife again.

When he stood the walker was inches from him, and he swiped at the man only to miss by and hit nothing but air, making him stumble forward. Eugene righted himself in time to duck out of the walker's grasp and make another swipe with the dagger, that only managed to make a cut across the man's stomach. The group continued laughing at his attempts, hollering advice down to him, but making no real move to help the man before Maggie stood up straight, and wiped the tears streaming down her face. She looked over at Daryl, who was leaning against the railing next to her and said."Beth would be screaming at us right."

Shaking his head, he turned in her direction. "Nah, the Beth I knew would have set his clothes on fire, and then thrown them out the window."

"No way," Maggie protested, eying Daryl like he was crazy. "Beth was too sweet to do something like that."

"Shit, you didn't see how happy she was to light a house on fire," he replied, leaning over to get a better view of Eugene trying to stab the walker a third time. He got the man in the shoulder, and barely managed to get the knife back by taking out the man's arm.

"Beth!" Maggie exclaimed, pointing at herself. "My Beth."

"Yes, your Beth," Daryl confirmed. "That girl had years of teenage rebellion dying to get out."

Maggie shook her head, still unable to believe that Beth would do such a thing.

"She still wouldn't want us up here laughing at the poor man while he struggled to get his clothes back from a walker."

"She's right, Daryl," Carol said, standing behind the both of them as they all got another look at Eugene's backside when the blanket slipped.

God damn, you're right," he muttered, ducking under the railing and making his way to the ground. "Besides, I'm tired of seeing his white ass."  
>Maggie laughed as she joined him, and together the two of them managed to help Eugene back on his feet and take the walker out. He muttered a quiet thank you to the both of them as he retrieved his clothes.<p>

When they got back upstairs, Eugene quickly exited to his room, and the left of the rest of the group to quietly laugh at the morning's events while mewling around Avery's apartment, that seemed to become their home base for the time being.

"That wasn't funny,"she said, making Daryl look up to find her sitting by herself on the couch. He shook his head at the girl as she stared at the far wall but replied anyways.

"The man had it coming."

Avery jumped at his response, her eyes bouncing from where she was looking at and back to him like she was expecting something to happen. When he didn't say anything else, she relaxed a bit, and moved to a kneeling position so that she could face him.

"His life was in danger, he could have been bitten," she said, looking at every one of them as they continued laughing at the man.

"Please, Carl over there can handle a single walker on his own, butt-naked with this knife." Daryl held up the end of the knife Eugene had used just a few minutes ago. It wasn't anything fancy, the blade was small, and obviously used more for carving than killing, but that didn't seem to phase Daryl any when he handed it to Eugene.

"You were still an ass about it," she replied, crossing her arms and giving him her meanest glare. Granted from her it wasn't much, but it still made Daryl drop his knife and lean on the counter to stare her down.

"What do you want, huh?" Daryl asked, turning his head to the side. "That man in there is the most selfish, egotistical, bastard, I have ever met, and if you think I'm going to apologize for acting the way I did, you got another thing coming."

Avery glared at him for a moment longer before storming out of the room. Daryl watched her go, and a bit of guilt washed over him for talking to her that, but he shook it off and went back to his task. Maggie nudged his arm, giving him a reassuring smile before turning back to helping Carol feed Judith. Carol patted him on the shoulder and told him that she would go and talk to the girl. He didn't really give a shit at the moment, and remained silent as the woman he looked at like a sister left the room.

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><p>The rest of the day went by uneventful, and all too soon Daryl found himself climbing out of the window to head up the fire escape for the first watch. Avery once again questioned why they were taking turns watching, and Rick simply replied with "It's too dangerous not to."<p>

Daryl agreed with the statement and so shouldered his crossbow and headed out. Taking in the cool breeze in the night sky with a bit of a sigh. It was lucky they came across Avery when they did, winter was coming sooner than they predicted and her apartment building provided them with the shelter that they sorely needed to survive it.

Still, Daryl couldn't help but notice how low they were on supplies and made a mental note to talk to Rick in the morning about doing another run. Maybe even get some hunting in so they could have some fresh meat for the next couple of days.

Shaking his head of the never ending demands, he sat back and thought about what Avery said. Wondering if Beth would have been on her side. He just couldn't shake the sound of Beth laughing right along with them when they first came across Eugene that morning. He could almost feel him next to her, holding on to him for support as she bent over trying to breath from laughing so hard.

A smile graced his lips as the image came into view, and he knew he had his answer. Yes, she would have been laughing with the rest of them, but she would have offered to help the man get his clothes back. Hell, she probably would have been down there giving him lessons on how to stab the knife into the walker's head. Something he should have thought of at the moment, if he wasn't so amused at the spectacle the man had created.

Running his hand through his hair to get out of his eyes, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone climbing up the ladder. He half expected to see Rick, or Carl. Hell, even Eugene was more expected than the sight of the little brown haired girl that tried to make him feel bad earlier.

"What you want, Lil girl," he asked, turning away from her glare.

"Nothing, old man," she replied, coming to stand just in front of him.

"I'm not an old man," he said, shifting so that he wasn't leaning so much.

"And I'm not a Lil girl," she shot back, looking at him from the corner of her eyes. He looked her up and down, but shrugged his shoulders.

"Whatever," he muttered, standing up so that he could get away from her. Something about her made him uncomfortable, and while he was grateful that she gave them a place to stay, he still didn't like being in the same room as her.

Luckily, the girl gave him his space. Not bothering to strike up a conversation with him or anything, and he peeked at her to see what she was up to. When he looked back, she was just standing there, with her arms crossed staring off into the distance. The night was cold, and he noticed the goosebumps forming on her flesh as she stood there shivering.

Avery must have felt him staring or something, because she looked at him, and he quickly looked away. Deciding that if she was really that cold, she could just go inside.

"Daryl Dixon," a small little voice scolded him. Making him cringe as he thought of what the small-blonde would be saying to him.

Another voice rose up from the grave, sounding an awful lot like his brother as it said, "Look at you, all pussy whipped by some dead girl."

Daryl cringed again, and shook the voices from his mind. Reminding himself that it didn't matter what they said anymore because they weren't here.

"But it does matter," the little voice said again and Daryl cursed his consciousness as he yanked his vest and jacket off so that he could hand his jacket over to the girl.

"Here," he barked, making her jump from where ever in her mind she'd been.

"What's that for?" she asked, looking at him and the jacket like either one of them could attack her at any moment.

"What do ya think?" he snapped, shaking the coat at her. Avery took it with hesitation and wrapped it around her shoulders before muttering a small thank you. Daryl turned back around, shaking as he tried to warm his arms now that they were bare to cold, and ignore the girl that he could feel was still staring at him. When he peeked back over to see if his instincts were right, she smiled at him and shook her head.

"What?" he asked, still unsure about her.

"Just trying to figure you out is all," she replied, continuing to stare at him. "One moment you're that cranky old man on the corner the street that chases all the kids away with a shotgun, and the next you're cooing at Lil Ass Kicker like..." Her voice trailed off as Daryl furrowed his brow at her.

He hoisted his crossbow up to point in her direction as he said, "that right there, is why I don't fully trust you."

Avery shrugged as her eyes darted to the ground. "I heard some of the others call her that, I just thought..."

"Uh huh, no one calls her Lil Ass Kicker but me, and I haven't uttered that name since I met you."

Avery shrugged again as she turned back to her stare into space. Daryl continued staring at her, trying to figure out how she'd could have heard Judith's nick name but coming up blank. Surely one of the others could have muttered it while he was out of earshot, but he highly doubted it.

"You're keeping something from us," he said, taking a step toward her. "And I will figure it out."

Daryl looked her up and down, and Avery met his hard gaze unwavering. She had secrets, Daryl knew that, and he put as much force in his stare to let her know that he was going to figure them out one way or another.

Avery was the first to break eye contact as she removed his jacket from her shoulders, and handed it back to him. It seemed like she was going to leave quietly when she stopped just before climbing onto the ladder and looked back at him.

"Hey Daryl," she said, making sure she had his attention. When he looked at her, she continued. "You ever heard that phrase 'dead men tell no tales'?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes at her and took a couple steps toward her. "You threaten me?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head, amazingly keeping her calm despite his aggressive stare. "Telling you that it's a lie."

"What?" Daryl asked, taking a step back to study her a moment longer.

"The saying, 'dead men tell no tales,' its' a lie."

"You ain't making no sense," he muttered, shaking his head as he turned away from her crazy talk.

"No, it makes perfect sense, and when you can tell me why it makes perfect sense, then I'll tell you my secret."

Daryl watched her leave, more confused now than when she joined him on the roof. Shaking off the odd conversation, he grabbed his jacket and put back on so that he could continue his shift in peace now that the crazy girl had gone to bed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Realize it's been sometime since I updated this story, but I just started getting back into a lot of my old stories and decided to finish this one up. I did have fun writing it, though its probably going to be a lot shorter then I originally planned. Enjoy what's here though and thanks for taking the time read this.**

** P.S. I realize there's mistakes its not exactly edited, but for now it will do.**

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><p><strong><span>Daryl's POV<span>**

The next day Daryl managed to talk Rick into coming on a scouting trip with him. Abraham and Rosita tagged along with a list from Eugene on what he would need to rebuild the two walls in the apartment building, and they were now dragging through town looking for some kind of hardware store. Daryl managed to get a few yards ahead of the couple behind them and waited until Rick caught up so that they could have a semi-private conversation.

"What's going on, man," Rick asked just as soon he was sure they wouldn't be heard. Daryl shook his head at first. Unable to think of the words to describe his problem with Avery.

"Do you think Avery's a bit odd to you?" he asked, continuing to look forward. He didn't want to see the look on his brother's face that told him he was going crazy.

Rick studied his friend for sometime before shaking his head. "She's been on her own for a while. We all know what that can do to a person."

Daryl nodded, not denying that sometimes being alone with ones own thoughts could drive a person mad faster than being around other people could, but the girl still made the goosebumps rise on his arms and he shook that off as to why.

"Nah, there's something else about her. The way she talks to herself and stares off at empty spaces. Not to mention what she said to me last night." Daryl shook his head at the words, still not looking to see Rick's confused expression.

"What did she say?" asked Rick, pausing in the middle of the street. Daryl looked back to see Rosita and Abraham hanging back as well.

"First she used Judith's nickname, like she'd known it for ages and I am damn sure no one' used it in front of her," he explained, finally meeting Rick's stare. "And then when I confronted her about it, she shrugged it off and said something about the phrase 'dead man tell no tales is a complete lie.' What kind of bullshit is that?"  
>Rick cocked his head to the side as Daryl moved forward. He stopped a few ahead of him and turned back around. "Do ya think we have anything to fear from the girl?"<p>

Rick looked to the ground, really considering Daryl's words before shaking his head ."I think she's just a young girl that's been through a hell of a lot, and needs some time readjusting."

Daryl shook his head. Unable able to believe that. Rick stepped forward to place a hand on the man's shoulder to make him calm down.

"Think about it, Daryl. She's opened her home to us. She didn't object when we searched the place, and even sat back when Abraham and them searched through the locked apartments. She's not a threat to us. Not an open one any ways, and besides she's only one girl."

Daryl moved away from the man, spitting on the ground as he met Rick's stare. "Yeah, and the Governor was only one man and look how that turned out."

He turned away form Rick then. His gaze focusing on the store that Abraham and Rosita were looking through. He walked closer and noticed it was an old hardware store that looked to have been boarded up before the people left.

Shaking off the odd talk with Rick, he knocked on the windows, and after a minutes of silence the four of them headed inside. Again the place looked to have been well preserved and Daryl shook his head at the thought. It was to damn good in his eyes.  
>Still he helped them gather up some plywood, and other such things that would be needed to block the holes in the walls before heading down the street to the general store that they came from the night before. There was still plenty of supplies left over and the hastily shoved canned food, chips and even some candy bars that were overlooked behind the counter into their bags before heading out.<p>

When they reached the apartment building, Abraham and Rosita climbed up the ladder while Daryl hung back.

Rick looked at him questioningly, and he shook his head."Heading into the woods to hunt. If our luck holds out, I can bring back a good size meal for us."

Rick nodded, not bothering to argue with his friend on this. Something told him, that he needed the alone time, and he wasn't going to push him to be closed up with a crowd of people. It was never Daryl's way.

Daryl through a hand up in fair well and Rick returned the gesture just as Daryl turned his back on him. Fully looking forward to a long day of silence and the familiar woods. As he was leaving he could feel a pair of eyes following him Assessing him no doubt, but he didn't bother looking back. Whoever it was, was probably on watch and wondering where he was going. He wasn't going to turn back to explain it to them. Rick could do that. Besides, Daryl didn't know even know where he was going at the moment. He was just heading out the place he knew the best. Away from people, and creepy little girls that knew things that only the dead should know.

His mind kept reeling at her words, trying to figure it out even while he focused on the trail of a couple of wild pigs. He knew he was growing closer to them, and he only slowed down when he came across a blood stained leaf, and then a pool of blood some yards ahead. When he came into a small clearing, he cursed to find that a walker had already made a meal of the pigs.

Shooting the thing in the head, he moved to pull his bolt out and his frustration got the better of him. Before he knew it, he was kicking the twice dead walker in the ribs, the head. Anywhere that his boots would meat rotten flesh. Even when his boot had gone through the man's chest, making what was left of his heart and lungs fall onto the ground he continued kicking him in the head until he collapsed from exhaustion.

It'd been days since he'd had a real meal, and the pigs were the first sign of life he'd seen in this god forsaken forest. Resting his head between his legs, he worked on drawing up the strength to stand and find something else to track.

"Come on, Darylina, you can't give up on that raggedy ass group of yours now," the voice in his head said. The one that sounded an awful like his brother that only came whenever the thought of taking the easy way out would surface. "Officer Friendly looking for you to come home. Need to show him that your a good little bitch."

"Go to hell," Daryl muttered, ignoring the fact that he was talking to himself.

"Funny, that's twice in one week that I've been told that. Maybe someone is tryin to tell me something."

"What the hell you talkin about?" Daryl asked, spitting on the ground as he looked around. The silence in the forest stretched on and on. His gaze swept over the small clearing, thinking he was going to see someone standing there talking to him. Possibly even an old bald someone that would find some way to taunt him for his current situation.

"Get your lazy ass up, and show them good for nothin people that you can do a better job at providin then our old man ever did," Merle's voice said, and Daryl could swear that he felt something kick in his side. When he looked over, there was rustling in the leaves, and Daryl grabbed his crossbow. Fully prepared to take out another walker. Instead, another piglet poked its head out from the brush, and Daryl quickly shot a bolt in its direction. He was rewarded with a high pitched squeal and a larger pig appeared not far from it. Running from the newest threat. Smiling, Daryl chased after the animal and manged to put a bolt through that one's leg before running up and pulling his knife out on it.

When he was finished, he leaned against a nearby tree to catch his breath. The sound of his brother chuckling made him look around again.

"That's my little brother. Jailbait will be proud of ya," he heard the man say just as the voice faded. Daryl shook off the odd conversation and moved to claim his hunt. He managed to pull a string from his bag, and tie the two pigs to the rope before moving on a little further to find some more squirrels, and even a couple of rabbits.

It was well into late evening when he appeared back in front of the apartment. He looked up to see a smiling Michonne, and Carol standing watch when he held up his catch.

"Alright," Carol hollered, and Michonne let out a rather loud whistle.

"Yeah, yeah,":he muttered, bringing his finger up to his lips to remind them that they needed to be silent. Both girls laughed while he pulled out a tarp that was hanging near the entrance and laid it flat so that he could start skinning his food.

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><p>That night after they'd manage to cook up some kind of stew with the hog meat that Daryl brought back and cans of vegetables from the store, Daryl laid back on his bed. His mind whirling from the conversation with the girl the night before, and the even odder conversation he had with his brother that afternoon.<p>

He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt like Merle was trying to tell him something, and with a rather loud huff he stood from his spot on the floor and made his way over to the girl's apartment. While he was gone, Eugene managed to be useful and board up the holes in the wall, and so he was pretty sure their conversation would still be relatively quiet.

Knocking, he was half surprised to find her answering in nothing more than a t-shirt and underwear while rubbing her eyes. It gave him a moment to let himself get a good look at her before clearing his throat, letting her know who was standing in front of her. Judging by the surprised look on her face, she didn't expect to see him so soon.

"What do you want, Hawkeye?"

Daryl glared at her for the nickname but pushed his way into her place. "Wanted to talk to you about what you said last night. About the dead telling tales."

Her eyes furrowed together for a moment before she remembered the conversation, and let out a quiet curse. Reluctantly, she moved back into her apartment with Daryl still standing behind her, watching as she dropped under blankets again.

"And what exactly did you want to say?" she asked, patting the space next to her on the pullout couch. Daryl shook his head, and took a seat on the makeshift coffee table that'd been shoved into the corner.

He rubbed at his chin for several minutes while the girl waited for his response. He wasn't sure how he should explain this without sounding to crazy with the idea.

"Heard my brother talking to me," he said, not bothering to raise his eyes to meet hers. He knew he sounded crazy, but didn't know how else to say it.

"Yeah, they tend to do that. Do it a lot more often than people realize," Avery said, not looking up at him either.

"I don't hear him that often," Daryl admitted, finally looking up at her. Avery glanced at him for only a moment before shaking her head and turning back to focus on the blanket she was picking at.

"No, you wouldn't. Most only hear them when their close to death. If you managed to have a full on conversation with the dead man, you must have been in a real dark place."

Daryl nodded his head. He wasn't ready to admit that' he'd been in that dark place for a while now.

"How'd you know those nick names?" he asked instead, needing answers from the girl.

Avery gave him one hard look before looking over her shoulder at something. His eyes followed her to the doorway and only looked back at her when she let out a heavy sigh.

"You're going to think I'm crazy," she said, still not looking directly at him.

"I already think your crazy, girl, just tell me."

An amused grin spread across Avery's face as she leaned closer, her finger wiggled for him to move closer. Daryl hesitated for only a second before leaning closer.

"I see dead people," she whispered, the grin on her face growing wider. Daryl's lips went tight, and it was the first time in a long time that he felt like throttling a living girl.

"Damn, punk ass," he spat as he shoved himself up from the bed. It took him three strides to reach the door and was ready to leave when she spoke up again.

"Your brother, he's got short cropped hair and the same blue eyes as you right."

Daryl froze, his head barely looking over his shoulder as she continued ."Likes to call you Darlyina and other such names."


End file.
